Penalties will curb tourists' bad behavior

A tourist climbs on a statue in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on May 10, 2013.

The National Tourism Administration on Monday issued a regulation that requires any uncivilized behavior by tourists to be put on record for one to two years. Comments:

Of course tourists should be held responsible for their uncivilized behavior. The tourism authorities could issue tickets, while the courts might even send them to prison if they break any laws. However, tourism authorities should preserve the records carefully, and prevent them from being misused - for example, records of uncivilized behavior at tourism sites are humiliating for the perpetrators. Humiliation is against modern values and violates human rights; the authorities holding the records should avoid humiliating anybody even if they have committed a wrong.

Beijing Youth Daily, April 7

A study shows that tourism and advertising were the least trusted industries last year, with the public's perception of tourism even worse than in 2013; bad behavior is one of the key causes of this. Worse, the uncivilized behavior of tourists has already damaged Chinese citizens' global image. When the social morality is not ripe enough to make tourists regulate themselves, proper laws and regulations are needed to punish them.

Xue Lan, a professor of tourism studies at Tsinghua University, April 7

There have long been regulations that prohibit the uncivilized behavior of tourists, but in the past they emphasized "persuasion" as the way to deter any misdeeds. This has proved ineffective. Only with proper punishment will tourists know that they will be held accountable for any uncivilized behavior, and thus be deterred from misbehaving.

People's Daily, March 31

Domestic morality lags far behind society's material development, and the newly rich are still accustomed to rude behavior on tours. Proper regulations with records will help make clear the rights and obligations of tourists.

Xia Xueluan, a professor of tourism at Peking University, April 7